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Midwest Startup Funding for the week ending October 3, 2026

Midwest startup funding, week ending October 3, 2026: $512m across three deals, led by Rising Point Capital's $325m maiden fund, plus NorthStar and Saros.

Flying Orange Piggy Banks for Midwest Startup Funding for the week ending October 3, 2026. Image: microstock3D / shutterstock - altered by AI
Flying Orange Piggy Banks for Midwest Startup Funding for the week ending October 3, 2026. Image: microstock3D / shutterstock - altered by AI

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The end of September and first week of October brought just three entries, and the largest of them is not a startup. Chicago's Rising Point Capital Management closed its maiden fund at $325 million, which puts a fund launch at the top of this week's list, ahead of two company deals worth a combined $187 million.

Three entries is half the count of each of the last two weeks, when there were six deals apiece, and equal with the first week of September. Thankfully, the dollars run the other way. This week comes to $512 million, comfortably the largest weekly figure we've recorded since the end of August.

Set the fund aside and the picture is modest, though respectable. The $187 million going to companies more than doubles last week's total and trails only the week ending September 18th in that run, with almost all of it coming from a single deal: a growth capital facility of up to $185 million for NorthStar Medical Technologies in Beloit, Wisconsin. The other is a $2 million award for Saros Therapeutics, a Rosalind Franklin University Helix 51 company working on cancer immunotherapy, which makes this a week for the life sciences.

Here are the Midwest investments from across the great states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin that we've been able to track and verify this week, ending October 3rd, 2026.

As always, every company and investor below can also be found in our startups and investors database.

‍While you're here: If you'd like to make sure you're notified about any funds raised from the six states we cover, then make sure you're subscribed to our newsletter

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Rising Point Capital Management

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Business Type: Venture Capital

Amount Raised/stage: $325m maiden fund close

What they do:

Invests in founder‑ and family‑led field‑based services firms across lower‑middle‑market sectors—industrial, energy transition, infrastructure, environmental, waste, rental, distribution, commercial and residential services—partnering for growth.

Read more here.

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NorthStar Medical Technologies

Location: Beloit, Wisconsin

Business Type: Life Sciences

Amount Raised/stage: Up to $185m growth capital facility

What they do:

Secured up‑to $185 M capital to expand no‑carrier‑added Ac‑225 isotope production and scale clinical‑ and commercial‑grade radiopharmaceutical manufacturing, enhancing supply‑chain capabilities for advanced therapies.

Read more here.

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Saros Therapeutics

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Business Type: Biotech

Amount Raised/stage: $2m award, its second

What they do:

Develops nanoparticle‑based immunotherapies that activate the STING pathway, delivering therapeutic compounds to innate immune cells to stimulate anti‑tumor responses and advance toward IND filing.

Read more here.

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Want to know more?

Read the latest quarterly funding reports for each state here:

Illinois startup funding - Q2 2026

Indiana startup funding - Q2 2026

Ohio startup funding - Q2 2026

Michigan startup funding - Q2 2026

Minnesota startup funding - Q2 2026

Wisconsin startup funding - Q2 2026

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‍While you're here: If you'd like to make sure you're notified about any funds raised from the six states we cover, then make sure you're subscribed to our newsletter

‍

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